"Demon Huntress" by Kayley Skie Moss

            It was an extremely frosty night. Of course, this was nothing unusual for the city of Kenchii. It was always this cold, all year, but it was its coldest around 7:00 p.m. until about 12:00 in the afternoon of the next day. Most families got home before the weather turned and put their heaters to max. All the streets and stores were all but bare. Only the criminals and drinkers came out when the weather became cruel. Bars will always be full and banks will always be robbed and the crime won’t stop any time soon.

            Skie walked into the middle of the street. She didn’t need to worry though because no one drove at this hour. She looked around her and was simply disgusted at how dirty the road was and how the buildings had graffiti all over the walls.

            It could be worse, right?

            She shook her head. Why did she care? Skie continued across the street and walked up to the big, blue neon sign that read The Blue Moon Wolf. She wanted to eat somewhere with better food, but the closest restaurant was all the way across town. As Skie walked in she noticed that the waitress that was normally there to seat people was gone. She didn’t wait for someone to show up she just went ahead a found a seat. As she sat down she noticed a big-muscled guy looking over at her. What did he want? She was 14 years old, what could he possible want with her?

            “Hi and welcome to The Blue Moon Wolf, may I offer you anything to drink or eat? I will suggest the beef and carrot soup?”

            The waitress pulled Skie out of her thoughts. Skie let her eyes scan over her. She was quiet tall for a woman and a little to thin. She put way to much make-up on and looked too tired to even be awake. Her black clothed uniform was stained with grease and ketchup.

            “I want water and chips.” Skie replied in her emotionless voice. The waitress looked at her with a suspicious look.

            “It’ll be right out.” Then she turned and left.

            What was that about? I can’t say I want water and chips without being suspicious? Who I’m I kidding, it was my emotionless voice. Whatever.

            She noticed a movement from across the room. It was the guy that had been looking at her earlier. He had leaned over and was talking to his friend who was short and bald. Not a friendship you see every day, but who was she to judge? Besides, she had seen much stranger things than those two. Skie looked over again and realized that muscle man had very light almost blonde, brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and deep green eyes. She was shocked that she didn’t recognize this earlier but of course she didn’t show that on her face. She had, for as long as she knew, always been emotionless with almost everyone and had super strong senses and high awareness. Skie never knew where she had gotten these abilities from for she had never known her parents.

            From what Skie knew is her mother gave birth to her then gave Skie to the family care taker. Then her mother ran off with her father, for some reason she was never told of, and left her behind with the care taker. Skie had been cared for by the care taker but the care taker would always wear a mask around Skie and she would also never speak. Skie thought this was because when she grew older the care taker didn’t want Skie to look for her. As if not knowing who took care of you was bad enough, she had come home one day when she was 10 years old and the care taker was gone. That’s when Skie learned to take care of herself and live off the streets. She was the only one on the streets at that time because many people move here so they were not born here. In Kenchii you must be born in the cold to live in the cold, so to speak. This is why Skie is emotionless and cruel. Why she has strong senses and awareness, she does not know. She must find her parents to find out.

            “Here are your chips and water.” The waitress swiftly set both the water and chips down. “Is there anything else I could get you?” she asked, though Skie knew all too well that she didn’t give a rat’s ass.

            “No” Skie said curtly and, yet again, emotionlessly. With that, the waitress turned and went to another table. Skie was completely parched and famished and finished the water in three big gulps. She inhaled the chips and even after that she was still hungry but she would not dare eat any more.

 Suddenly she felt a piercing sharp pain right above her right eyebrow. This pain was so unbearable that Skie wasn’t able to breathe. She got up from the table and knelt on the floor, hunched over. People started to crowed and shout but she couldn’t hear them over the pain. With all her strength she got up and ran into the bathroom. As she ran in she knocked a few people down that were in her way. She bent over the sink and was ready to throw up when the pain completely disappeared. It was as if the pain was never there, no throbbing, no buzzing, nothing. Skie looked up at herself and wasn’t surprised by what she saw.

            It was the same old Skie with her deep brown hair that hung mid way down her back then it turned into a braid that stretched down just above her knee. Her piecing light blue eyes, pale beautiful skin, smooth complexion, and just the right height at 5’ 4” and not to mention thin. People had told her that she was any mans dream, but she didn’t care. She would never trust anyone enough to actually love them. She didn’t think of herself as pretty, or ugly, or in between either, she was just her and that was that. 

            She was sweating though and her hair stuck to her face. While taking some deep breathes she splashed water onto her face. That got rid of the sweat and she fixed up her hair, but she didn’t want to go back out of the bathroom. With her super natural senses she could hear the people outside of the bathroom waiting to ambush her with questions. With I sigh she sat down on the floor and put her back up against the wall.

            What was that pain? Where did it come from? No one was around me when it happened and the food and water weren’t poisoned. So what the hell happened?

            So many questions buzzed in her head. Skie tried to answer them but she just couldn’t. Soon her head started to hurt from over thinking so she crossed her legs and focused on emptying her mind. It was difficult to do with the events that just happened and with everyone talking just a few meters away, but she soon cleared her head.

She had lost track of time because when she stopped her meditation it was almost dead quiet except for the employees cleaning up. Skie rushed out of the bathroom, set a ten dollar bill on her table and left the Blue Moon Wolf. The freezing night air might have made any other person run home to their heater but Skie grew up in this cold and she learned to like its company. She inhaled through her nose and exhaled through her mouth, creating a huge white cloud in front of her. She had to admit that is was cold out, even for her but her clothes were just right for the weather and Skie. She wore a long black cloak that just barley rubbed against the ground. A long brown sleeved shirt covered her torso and black jeans with sleek brown boots cover her bottom half. She didn’t wear the latest fashion or the coolest clothes, she wore what she had available, but even Skie had to admit she needed a new shirt. It had holes all over the arms and down near the waist. Where could she find one though?

            She continued down the sidewalk and turned into an alley. She was about halfway through when some dark figure blocked her way. It was huge and looked very muscular and she could just make out the emerald color of his eyes.

            The guy from the restaurant! Crap! I really don’t need this right now.

            “Hey there, little girl.” the muscle man said in a husky, sinister voice. Skie spotted Mr. Bald and Short move behind her. Well they didn’t want her to leave anytime soon. She needed to find a shirt so she could get some sleep, and after that episode in the restaurant, she was tired.

            “Going somewhere? Well we stopped by to invite you over for dinner. I saw what you ate back there and let me tell you, that’s not enough. So what do you say?”

            Skie started at him coldly, not saying a word. She wasn’t going to put up with this. Either they moved or they get to see how “little and innocent” she really was.

            “Not much of a talker are you? No matter! You’re coming with us whether you want to or not!”

            Skie had enough of this! “Why don’t you and your midget crawl back into the hole you came from.” She replied, with a hint of annoyance in her voice.

            “That’s it!” His eyes started to glow. He reached out a gripped Skie’s shoulder.

            BIG mistake!

            That’s when things got ugly.